Brower v. Gateway 2000, Inc.
Supreme Court of New York, Appellate
Division, 1998.
246 A.D.2d 246, 676 N.Y.S.2d
569.
Facts: The plaintiff bought a PC from Gateway through direct
sales. The PC box contained a “shrinkwrap
agreement” which included an arbitration clause. The plaintiff sued, claiming breach of
warranty among other things because they didn’t get the service and support
they were promised. Gateway moved to
dismiss the suit based on the arbitration clause. The plaintiffs countered that the arbitration
clause was unconscionable, in particular given the nature of the organization
(the International Chamber of Commerce) that was to provide the rules. The ICC was based in
Issue: Is the designation of the ICC as the arbitration body
unconscionable?
Rule: UCC § 2-302 allows courts to flexibly police against
clauses that they find unconscionable as a matter of law. Unconscionability consists of a combination
of grossly unequal bargaining power plus terms that are unreasonably favorable
to the more powerful party.
Analysis: The court finds that most of the plaintiff’s claims
about the arbitration clause don’t hold water, but the court does find that the
particular arbitrator chosen was not fair and was designed to deter individual
customers from using the arbitration process.
Conclusion: The case is remanded to substitute a different
arbitrator.